I’m so behind on updating so I may be rushing things but I think yall can keep up.

One of my blog sisters,

Yummy discussed Google Reader in her most recent blog. Do yourself a favor and check it out! It’s amaaaazing. I can now know when each and every one of you lovely ladies makes an update without spending 30 years going to each blog space. I just go to my Google Reader and BAM….I can see who made updates. It even works fab on my Sidekick (which will hopefully turn into a Blackberry Curve on Christmas Day). Good lookin’ out, Yums!

Here are what those pretty lip sticks look like. [ahem and how do yall get the titles and words on your pictures? Lemme guess….Photoshop, uh? I’ll invest in that when I get on that steady salary. Hehe.]

*left to right* [Milani’s Sumptuous and MAC’s 3D and Viva Glam IV]

And then here’s the bitty haul I got from The Originals Collection. Ochre Style on the left, A Little Folie on the right.

I was NOT a fan of that Parrot. I can’t believe people were goin’ crazy over a color that looks so close to MAC’s Shimmermoss and Waternymph (from the Lure collection). It’s so not worth the hype.

I like A Little Folie for a crease color. And even for a lid color if I can get it to work right. I have issues with some mattes. I like Ochre Style because it is a muted gold and isn’t as loud as that damn Amberlights. However, it’s color payoff isn’t too hot so I have to get a super good base for this to pop. But if they don’t work out, I will not hesitate to return them. HA!

Don’t understand that hype over C-Thru either because it looked a hot mess on me. Hmmm…this collection was just “Eh” for me. The last collection that seriously wow-ed me all over was Smoke Signals and that was in August, I believe. But I do believe that the Fafi collection will have me jumpin’ for joy!!!!!!! Who else is excited about this beauuuutiful collection?

Here is how I’m lookin’ these days. Face is looking a little better but I’m getting insecure with the dark spots. I only wear eye liner, mascara and a lip color everyday. Tis all. And heyyyy….look who got a new scarf! Have I mentioned how much I love scarves?

And I played around with Sushi Flower (I’m sorry but I hate HATE this color, I can’t ever get it to work), Humid and Shimmermoss. Something didn’t come out right because the color payoff so didn’t last. But then again, I was just playin’ around.

And ohhh, I got my nails done and isn’t this color pretty?

I’m happy happy. Why can’t my nails look this good when I do it? Ugghhh.. Yall like my faux wedding hand picture, uh? I even got the wedding ring. LOL, I’m a mess.

I’m in Florida!! Back on the East Coast and I couldn’t be happier. It was worth the jet lagged red eye trip from Cali at 1am. That was a rough day but I am so happy to see familiar faces, places and MY CAR! I haven’t driven in 3 months. That’s just insane.

I actually have a TON of updates but I gotta do some backtracking, so first things first.

I hauled MAC’s clear brow gel and I love love love it. It really aids in smoothing out my naturally thick and curly brows. Since the waxing accident, they have grown in nicely. I don’t need to pencil in anything. My roomie helps with the arch so I’m estatic that SOMETHING is going right in the beauty department.

I also hauled more lip colors…..MAC’s 3D and Viva Glam IV.

Here are some FOTDs…ignore the eye make-up. I was messin’ around in pigments.

[3D]

[Viva Glam IV ]

I like them both. And I’m really liking my collection. I also copped a Milani color that I don’t have any pictures of. I’ll do some swatches of ALL of my newest lip colors just in case other brown ladies are lookin’ for something that works nicely for us.

And I will also post pictures of my skin later. It’s actually getting A LOT better. I have been walking around here without the face make-up and surprisingly, I’m fine. I don’t think I look THAT bad. Some of yall are saying my skin ain’t THAT bad and maybe you’re right….my dramatic self. Still. I would like to try another foundation just for kicks. But to not wear it is just…..amazing.

And I checked out The Originals collection (that one snuck up on me) today and only purchased 2 things. That’s coming in the next post. 5 days until Christmas and I have still puchased zero gifts. It feels great.

I’m rockin’ out on Jaheim’s newest album. For a sultry singer with REAL talent, check out his “The Makings of a Man” album. Simply fab. I shall return, lovelies!

I’ve been able to update like crazy because my teaching/volunteering time is coming to a close end. I am excited! But not really because I have to study for a Teaching Certification exam AND the GRE to get into grad school. YIKES! Yall, pray for me. Seriously. Check out the beautiful floral picture I took yesterday.

Isn’t that gorgeous? I’m showing you this now because what is next to come may scare you. I’ve decided to show you close up pictures of my skin. Now I’m not going to sit here and dog MAC Cosmetics out and make it seem that they are the reason my face is this way. It could be a number of things:-Stress-LA smog-Leaving the world of vegetarianism (I’ll be back)-Water-Weather changes….so I don’t know. MAC’s face products/foundations may not be the monster. But the best way to find out is not stop using them and see how things change. Which is hard because my face looks just awful…..check it out.

Now it gets worse…

Is this not AWFUL?! Now follow the journey of a newbie as she tries to get her pretty skin back. I’m so devastated.

But yesterday the school’s faculty went out to The Cheesecake Factory. I thought I would be out of place being that I was the youngest non-Californian Black woman there but we all had a good time. As cultured as I like to thing of myself as being, it’s always strange when I’m the only “Black woman” anywhere. But when I realized that my Mexican and Central American co-teachers are just as loco as me and my friends, I was feeling goooood. I did a holiday-ish look.

….It was cute and festive. Pero, mi cara…..my spirits are really down because of my face. I think I may exchange my Chesnut lip pencil for a lipstick and then purchase one more. That sounds reasonable in price. And maybe I’ll feel a little bit better about myself.

Hi lovely people! I hope you’ve all had a great weekend. I diiiiiid. Watched a ton of movies, went out to eat with the roomies, been cookin’ up a storm, semi-shopping then went to church with my Joy Joy. I’ve also been studying for the GRE and FTCE (one’s for entry into grad school, the other to be a certified teacher in Florida) and making plans to high-tail it out of LA. Which includes looking for an apartment and a list of other things. But this is a beauty blog….so let’s bring on the beauty!

So obviously I’m still supposed to be on make-up probation. I’ve been doing well…..at least for high end products. I’ve only been in Target and drugstores, so I’m proud. This is what I got this weekend…

I’ve been content with my Fibre Rich and Voluminous mascaras but I think one of the reasons I got the LashBlast is because I love the orange tube! It’s just so fab. I’ll do a review on that later. And of course….had to cop some lip colors since that’s my newest interest in make-up. NYC is cheap and I love their colors. Wish they had more! And I needed an eye gel and since Olay was on sale at Target, I copped that. I don’t have dark circles or wrinkles (yet) but I want to get in the habit of applying this stuff.

And now onto the FOTDs.

This was taken this past Friday….I have on zero foundation. Haven’t been wearing that or eye shadows this past week. The pimples are back. Alllll over. It makes me so miserable and I have noooo idea how to stop these breakouts. When I go home for the holidays, I am going to do my 5 day fast and have Mom, the herbalist make something for me because this is getting out of control. Who gets acne at 23? Especially having NEVER had it as a teenager. Ugghhhh!

A friend of mine told that maybe MAC products are the root of evil. I mean she is right…my skin was never this bad when I wasn’t wearing MAC. But the horror! I love my MAC but I love my flawless skin more so if I have to give it up, I will….damn, that would be one hell of a break-up. Let’s hope that doesn’t have to happen.

Here I am Friday night indulging in soooome eyeshadows.

And Saturday as I went off to Little Tokyo (BTW, I’m in love with Asian food/culture. I’m all over it these days) I decided to do a Blue/teal look. I used Big T, Navy Blue Pigment and Carbon. It’s just ehhhhh. Not that into it but it was fun.

I am soooo in love with my brows. They actually have an arch now. With a little more growth at the top, I think I’ll finally have the “perfect” brows. So sad that I had to go through the waxing accident to get to this. But all is fair in make-up and learning.

I’ve also decided to do some nose contouring because damn my nose is huge! LOL, check out my pictures…you can see up my nose in a lot of them. AND it’s just….very dominating. I’ve got a honker. Hehe…even if I could afford it, I don’t think I’d get a nose job, but still…gonna learn how to do some contouring.

I’m going to do a video next post or so. I’ve got some reviews to do too. So yay! I hope everyone has a fab upcoming week. I’m leaving you with some of my make-up art. I love taking fun photos of make-up. Check ‘em ouuuut.

So yeah….pimples are back. And they brought a little partner called Seborrheic dermatitis. It’s the most random thing ever. My face gets all hot and it looks like a flesh eating bacteria has taken over. It’s awful. Hydrocortisone cream helps. Anywho. I’m getting patches of that again. So in the next few pictures you may see that. I think I’ve gotten it under control for the most part, but still….

OH—and for those that are using MAC’s Prep-N-Prime, I’m trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong. I honestly like the product, but it’s leaving my face a bit ghostly lookin’. It looks white after I put it on….I’m using a brush and applying it as lightly as I can. What’s the prob, mayn? Anyone got any application ideas? Or maybe this just isn’t for me….I don’t know. The next time I go to MAC to ask questions about this, but I’m getting a bit pissed off at MAC in the Skincare department. First the Strobe Cream now me. I can’t the pearly shimmer stuff they put in some of their skincare products. Definitely not brown skinned folx friendly—-or it could be me. I don’t know. We’ll see.

So….I tried something different the other day. A colored liner on my waterline (or is that the lower lash line? I get an F in facial terminology). It’s pretty fun…

And here are shots of me after getting’ my lips done at MAC Pro.

Oh…and there is Stylistics.

I couldn’t bring myself to spend that much money on products that didn’t really WOW me. Or maybe I’m in denial because I’m a broke ass and just can’t afford it. Who knows. Maybe Santa will bring me something. But if not, life will move on. Passing on Metal X and The Stylistics ain’t THAT hard.

On to the lips….I’ve decided to return my Chestnut Lip pencil. Don’t think I have much use for that. Especially since I have a pretty decent brown from Milani.Here are my FOTDs…..you have been warned of the dermatitis on the left cheek (your right) so yeah….it sucks. So sad. Still blaming the harsh elements of LA smog. I can’t do this city thing. I need to go back to my clean Floridian air. Ha!

I really like not putting a mess load of products on my eyes. I never realized how time consuming it is. I have 20 minutes more in the morning!

On a good note….the brows are growing back! I’m elated. They are looking better. It’s 34 days since the incident and I’m so happy at how fast they are growing. Still not perfect but at least I don’t walk around looking super duper surprised anymore. And I seriously don’t want to draw them in anymore. Because my brows are so thick, I am confident in thinking that I can have decent arched brows without the assistance of liners, stencils and things like that. But we’ll see how I feel in a month or two. Ha.

And welcome to the Eyelashes for Newbies Edition of Clumps of Mascara. Today I will highlight some of the things that I’ve learned while playing around with mascara. Please keep in mind that a lot of these tidbits may be things you may have already known. Which if that is the case, good for you! This post will simply only assist other newbies stumbling over the hassles of mascara and eyelashes. I’ve got pictures coming up as well as a FOTD, so stay tuned!

Oh yeah…and just to warn you, I’m having some photo re-sizing issues

goin’ on in this post…..please excuse the mess. Trying some new things out!

Ahhh, I’ve always been attracted to the idea of having long long loooong lashes. Only I didn’t quite get that gene. So, I, like many other women have been trying to achieve the look of having long beautiful lashes for many years now. I’m no newbie to mascara itself, but I am a newbie to different concepts/methods.

Now I’m not gonna go on a rant about what mascara is the best. I don’t think there is one, personally. And I’ve tried a lot. Not a lot A LOT, but enough to never really be satisfied. And people swear by DiorShow but it’ll be a cold day in hell before I spend that much money on a mascara. But that’s just me. I only own four right now.

-L’Oreal Luminous-L’Oreal Telescopic-MAC Plush Lash-MAC Fibre Rich

……I’m a big fan of L’Oreal mascaras. And I’ve recently figured out how to get MAC’s Fibre Rich to work for me. Which brings me to my first learned lesson.

(1) It’s okay to use different mascaras at the same time. In the FOTD you will see today, I used Telescopic for my first coat and then Fibre Rich for my next two. I’ve achieved the look that I wanted….which would not have been possible had I used each of them solo.

(2) Tilt your head up when you apply mascara. I’m probably the only person in America who didn’t know this, but I’ve found that tilting my head significantly makes a big difference in my overall application.

(3) Open your mouth when applying mascara. I don’t know….it helps. Can’t explain that phenomenon but it does help.

(4) Using an eyelash curler AFTER applying mascara….not so much a good idea. I’ve heard it works for some people but it rips out my poor lashes. Not a good look.

(5) Brush your eyelashes. I don’t know where I got this from, but I do it religiously now. I use a regular mascara wand (preferably a disposable one) and brush my Vaseline coated eyelashes every night before bed. Why the Vaseline? To add a little moisture. I don’t use a ton….globs of Vaseline floatin’ in the iris ain’t coo. Just enough to where my lashes are slightly moisturized. And then I use the mascara wand and brush up as if I’m applying mascara. Brushing stimulates hair follicles and promote hair growth!

And so there are my 5 tidbits..and now for some pictures!

Here are my funky eyelashes with no mascara.

They start to look a little better with one coat.

And theeeeeen, here we go with 3 coats! Clumps and all….I mean really….where else will you find a blog that showcases MISTAKES? I’m a mess. If you haven’t already noticed.

And welcome to the Eyelashes for Newbies Edition of Clumps of Mascara. Today I will highlight some of the things that I’ve learned while playing around with mascara. Please keep in mind that a lot of these tidbits may be things you may have already known. Which if that is the case, good for you! This post will simply only assist other newbies stumbling over the hassles of mascara and eyelashes. I’ve got pictures coming up as well as a FOTD, so stay tuned!

Oh yeah…and just to warn you, I’m having some photo re-sizing issues

goin’ on in this post…..please excuse the mess. Trying some new things out!

Ahhh, I’ve always been attracted to the idea of having long long loooong lashes. Only I didn’t quite get that gene. So, I, like many other women have been trying to achieve the look of having long beautiful lashes for many years now. I’m no newbie to mascara itself, but I am a newbie to different concepts/methods.

Now I’m not gonna go on a rant about what mascara is the best. I don’t think there is one, personally. And I’ve tried a lot. Not a lot A LOT, but enough to never really be satisfied. And people swear by DiorShow but it’ll be a cold day in hell before I spend that much money on a mascara. But that’s just me. I only own four right now.

-L’Oreal Luminous-L’Oreal Telescopic-MAC Plush Lash-MAC Fibre Rich

……I’m a big fan of L’Oreal mascaras. And I’ve recently figured out how to get MAC’s Fibre Rich to work for me. Which brings me to my first learned lesson.

(1) It’s okay to use different mascaras at the same time. In the FOTD you will see today, I used Telescopic for my first coat and then Fibre Rich for my next two. I’ve achieved the look that I wanted….which would not have been possible had I used each of them solo.

(2) Tilt your head up when you apply mascara. I’m probably the only person in America who didn’t know this, but I’ve found that tilting my head significantly makes a big difference in my overall application.

(3) Open your mouth when applying mascara. I don’t know….it helps. Can’t explain that phenomenon but it does help.

(4) Using an eyelash curler AFTER applying mascara….not so much a good idea. I’ve heard it works for some people but it rips out my poor lashes. Not a good look.

(5) Brush your eyelashes. I don’t know where I got this from, but I do it religiously now. I use a regular mascara wand (preferably a disposable one) and brush my Vaseline coated eyelashes every night before bed. Why the Vaseline? To add a little moisture. I don’t use a ton….globs of Vaseline floatin’ in the iris ain’t coo. Just enough to where my lashes are slightly moisturized. And then I use the mascara wand and brush up as if I’m applying mascara. Brushing stimulates hair follicles and promote hair growth!

And so there are my 5 tidbits..and now for some pictures!

Here are my funky eyelashes with no mascara.

They start to look a little better with one coat.

And theeeeeen, here we go with 3 coats! Clumps and all….I mean really….where else will you find a blog that showcases MISTAKES? I’m a mess. If you haven’t already noticed.

Notice how you don’t see my brows in any of those pics. I’m still in depressive mode over that unfortunate wax incident. And I really can’t draw them on. I’ve tried. It looks a mess….. That’s one department in the make-up world that I just don’t think I can master. I really have tried.

And another thing, Blogger sucks…like major. I don’t know why my pictures can’t be seen on a larger scale when you click on them. When I play around with HTML to make them larger, they end up looking all pixelated. Does anyone know how to make Blogger pictures bigger? Heeeelp!

Peace and primer.

EDIT: Thanks Tee….PhotoBucket-ing EVERY picture ain’t fun. But at least yall can get a better view. Yessss!

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1 week agoby clumpsofmascaraDay 22: Beauty Quote - A crazy quote for a #beautyblogger to love but it's true for me. #Makeup is fun. It's art. It can transform and inspire. It can make you feel fierce and confident. But at the end of the day, when I remove the powders, creams, mascara and gloss, I still want to embody that fierceness. So yes @lupitanyongo . I feel you, girl. #LipstickLeague

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1 week agoby clumpsofmascaraWash Day up in here today. Keeping it simple and sealing with grapeseed oil and some creams from @beemineproducts . #naturalhair

2 weeks agoby clumpsofmascara​Day 17: Favorite Blogger - I'm super behind on this but I'll try to finish the challenge out with a bang. THREE of my favorite bloggers - @byjillee b/c she is a fantastic writer has an incredible story and I look forward to reading all of her posts. She inspires me. @naturalhairrule because she has provided such a wealth of information in an industry that has lacked for so long. She's humble, helpful and is such a light. She makes me want to do better. @verysmartbros make me laugh, think and go, huhhhh? I love reading the Black man's perspective on pop culture, relationships and randomness. #blogging #beautyblogger #LipstickLeague

3 weeks agoby clumpsofmascaraYou may be a former #naturalhair blogger if you track your daughter's hair growth and obsess over healthy hair practices. I love her thick and luscious #hair!

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